The MAPA program has allowed me to refocus and explore new options. I just finished a temporary position with the USDA and I will be starting another temporary position for a non-profit tomorrow. I think my first step in building creative confidence is accepting the fact that I don’t have to have it all figured out yet. This program has uniquely placed me in a spot where I am able to take these short-term positions and learn where my skills are best put to use. I am looking forward to the course, and continuing to rediscover my creative confidence! 

1. Could there ever be vehicles that power themselves?

2. If I could have any superpower it would be flight.

3. Why don’t we utilize wind power more?

4. Invention we need: Animal thought translator.

5. How can National Parks continue to preserve lands and keep up with increasing visitors?

6. Is it possible to create a new color?

7. I wonder why some animals travel in packs/herds and some prefer to live solitary lives?

8. I wish I had the capacity to learn every language.

9. All mattresses should be adjustable to your soft/firm preference.

10. I wish there was a way to know if everyone sees color the same way, or if it is different for each of us.

1. There should be more research done to find a sustainable alternative to parking lots.

2. Could vaccines be put into pill form? Into food? 

3. The US would benefit greatly from a better public transport system - cross country trains?

4. What if we replaced traditional roads with heavy duty solar panels that produced heat in the winter and melted snow and ice?

5. People working in the fossil fuels industry could easily be trained to work in the renewables industry.

6. Tunnels through the oceans to connect continents by car or train.

7. Everyone should be able to shadow jobs before applying.

8. How did hot air balloons get invented? 

9. We should make more adult sized parks (slides, swings, etc.) to promote lifelong fitness.

10. Invention we need: Accurate hair cut or hair color simulator, to see if you like it before you actually do it.

1. My phone should just know what I want to type.

2. Clothes and shoes that grow with children should be invented.

3. An app that can scan foods for hidden allergens.

4. There should be a way to organize the photos on my phone by importance.

5. It should be acceptable to have multiple soap options by the sink, more scent varieties at once.

6. Someone should invent a dryer that also folds the clothes.

7. There should be an at-home way to check your vitamin and nutrient levels.

8. Work weeks should be shorter - happier people put more effort into work.

9. A website where you can input your place in a book and it will give a recap up to that point.

10. An app that can scan any item and tell you where you can buy it.

I attempted to use the skills learned in this class for the first time in my job this past week. There was an overbooked schedule for the day and the manager was struggling to figure out how it was all going to get done by the end of the day. I was able to gather everyone in the office and discuss who was able to do what. We played off of peoples’ strengths instead of their usual assigned tasks. I took over some of the office work from the manager so that he could be more useful in helping the set up team, and one of the set up employees switched over to AV for the day to help them out. We ended up accomplishing everything because of a creative solution that required ignoring the norms of the workplace and I am glad I was able to assist in that! 

I am grateful to have taken these past eight weeks to develop these skills. I was worried when we started this class that it was going to be irrelevant to the rest of the program, but I was happily proven wrong!